Any politician will tell you, when things are going bad, when the polls are against you, change the conversation.

Randy Carlyle might one day want to consider running for office.

His Maple Leafs down — emotionally, mentally, maybe physically and certainly in the series against the Bruins — Carlyle chose an opportune moment to change the conversation.

Noting the clock over the Air Canada Centre ice was six minutes faster than the clock in the dressing room, he got all the players who were on the ice early for practice to line up, bang their sticks on the ice and greet the latecomers.

“It’s part of flushing,” said Carlyle. “They don’t feel good coming to the rink this morning. Everybody’s sore, everybody’s tired, everybody’s not feeling good because they’re not getting the desired result. We can’t change what happened (in Game 3). We have to prepare ourselves for (Game 4).

“If you can provide some antidote of humour into the day, it starts the day with a fresh outlook.”

One by one, the would-be latecomers tried to explain the time difference on the clock. Soon, there were smiles all around.

“Just a bit of fun,” said defenceman Jake Gardiner. “We’re getting back to having some fun out there and getting ready for (Game 4).”

Carlyle has proven to be a master strategist this season and into the playoffs.

His line-matching philosophy tends to give his best players a chance to be their best.

There was lobbying of NHL officials to be on the lookout for the Bruins getting away with shenanigans in the faceoff circle, another conversation-changer.

But it’s his people skills that may be most under-rated.

It’s been said that Carlyle doesn’t suffer fools gladly — a la his predecessor, Ron Wilson — and might not have been a good fit for media-centric Toronto.

In his handling of young players, he has been both old-school tough and new-age progressive.

Both Gardiner and Matt Frattin — two young players who promise to be part of the team’s core in the near future — have suffered his wrath. Both were sent back to the minors for long stretches. Both have been healthy scratches.

“He coaches old-school,” said Frattin. “He holds guys accountable. As a young guy you have to learn that as you go. That’s what makes you a better player in the long run.”

Both are now providing solid minutes and contributions in the playoffs. Both have come to understand Carlyle — what he wants and how he operates. They appreciate that Carlyle is honest and forthright with them.

“He knows we’re capable of a lot,” said Gardiner. “When we’re not doing the right things, he’s going to get on us. He knows we’re capable of things. He knows we’re accountable.

“He’s been really good. He’s been pretty straightforward. I know what I have to do to stay in the lineup.”

Carlyle had continually criticized Gardiner, for example, through the regular season for not being strong enough defensively. But lately, he’s been praising Gardiner for his skating and offensive ability, saying Gardiner has to use those skills to separate himself.

Now the stories about Gardiner are about his bright future, not dwelling on his in-game mistakes.

In a way, his handling of Frattin and Gardiner is symbolic of how he’s trying to guide the youngest and least experienced team in the NHL playoffs in a series against a veteran lineup that is only two years removed from winning the Stanley Cup.

Games 1 and 3 were lost by the Leafs due to mental errors — giveaways and turnovers — that seemed to stem from inexperience or nerves. But Carlyle — perhaps sensing the psyche of his team is low — is accentuating the positives.

“Experience, how do you get it? You have to live it,” said Carlyle. “What we’re trying to do, is focus on one thing we can control: We can control our commitment to playing to the level that is required. Ordinary is not good enough.”

The message from Carlyle on Tuesday was intriguing. Suddenly, the playoffs weren’t about winning or losing. That’s a lot different than the messages with teams that consider themselves Cup contenders.

In Toronto, there’s a happy-to-be here message being sent.

“Any mental coach will tell you that you can’t labour on the result being the object, it’s the process,” said Carlyle. “It’s up to the individuals.

“As far as a system, or a tweak you can do, there’s always something you can do. You try to build the confidence back in your group: What did we do well? And that’s what we’re trying to pick out. We’re trying to focus on the things we did well. That gave us a chance in the game. Those are the things we’re trying to build on, that we aren’t that far off.”

It is as if to say, the road to next year begins this year. That changes the conversation away from having to win Game 4.

More on thestar.com

We value respectful and thoughtful discussion. Readers are encouraged to flag comments that fail to meet the standards outlined in our
Community Code of Conduct.
For further information, including our legal guidelines, please see our full website
Terms and Conditions.